Surveillance Camera

T

Do you recommend a camera to watch ee activity at work? I work for a mail forwarding service and my boss wants to put camera's in the workplace to monitor the working employee vs. the slacker employee. He will try to introduce this camera as a positive action, however, most ee's will be affended. And talk about ee morale. I'm not sure it's a good idea, but I wanted to know if there is a legal issue I should be concerned about?
Thanks.

Down_the_Middle

Depends on which state you live in, but pls do not waltz out and buy cameras w/o understanding the legal implications of what you're considering. Get some local legal counsel or research the privacy reg's in your state b/4 making a huge mistake.

ritaanz

First thing that I thought of was...... Will there be one in HIS office?

San Francisco

I don't know about the legalities, but I would hate to have a camera on me all day. We do use them in our stores, but that is common practice due to theft issues. Just curious, but it would seem that the employer would be aware of who is a "slacker" and who isn't by viture of his/her productivity or lack thereof. Do they have a supervisor who oversees their day to day activity? Just seems there should be a better way to monitor than by camera.

Theresa Gegen TX

It is legal to put cameras in areas that are generally open, where people would expect to be seen. A camera in a locker room or a bathroom, for example, would invade individuals' privacy, but a camera in an otherwise open area is okay.
But, it is not legal to tape record the oral converstations of employees (unless you have consent or are a party). Also, if your company has a union, the video issue must be bargained for.

Finally, I think you are right to worry about employee's morale going down hill. I can't imagine how the supervisor could put a postive spin on this one. I would think a better way to manage the employees would be to have a supervisor check on their progress, etc, fairly often.

Hunter1

Hello, all:
OOPS Need some advice along these same lines: We are a public entity, and just spent a substantial amount of money to install a fairly sophisticated security system throughout our Water Utility, including intrusion alarms for facilities, swipe card locks, and .... cameras. The union put us on notice yesterday that they wish to bargain the impact of the new system, especially the cameras. The cameras monitor potential entry sites as opposed to general work areas, but, of course, there is overlap. Where do we stand?
Thanks

T

Thanks everyone for your input. Like I said, I am not in favor of lowering my ee morale, and I have a feeling that cameras on site would definitely put a damper on things.
Thanks again.
Oh yeah, HE has not suggested that a camera be placed in HIS office! Ha! Ha!

WT

Camera use revolves around reasonable expectation of privacy. Generally such issues come to light when there is a hidden camera. If employees know there is a camera, obviously their expectation of privacy is diminished.

If a union wants to negotiate the impact of having a camera, generally they are accepting the right of management to install the camera but want to talk about the impact on their members. This would generally involve discipline for behavior caught on camera. It is not bad to talk about impact as long as the union has recognized a right to install a camera. Just do not give up all rights to discipline based on what is recorded.

Don D

I think there are about equal amounts of positive and negative with cameras. Morale can suffer. On the other hand, product sabotage in a sophisticated manufacturing process or theft or trespass can be caught and the consequence of not catching it can be monumental. They are invaluable for monitoring doorways and outside areas also. Regrettably, last week I had to suspend an ee for two days for repositioning the camera in one of the break areas. He explained, "I just don't want nobody watching me eat!" Sounded perfectly reasonable to me, as I don't either! But we can't weigh the consequence of that action against someone who might reposition the camera shooting the $5000 reels of copper. When we mounted them in break areas, we explained that the incidence of trashing the break areas, vending machine vandalism and graffiti left us no choice. The real problem comes when you have a 'control mentality' or 'gotcha mentality' in charge of cameras. x:=|

nsn

Having worked in casinos for the better part of 30 years, I don't conciously think about being on camera. We have surveillance on the every part of the casino including the breakroom. We use video to resolve disputes on the gaming tables and also to observe the employees. If one is doing their job, they should not have a problem with being on camera. Even the most deligent workers have times when the slack off a bit. I have no problem with occassional slackers as long as the work is done and they are willing to go the distance when needed.